TurboMinivan
Still plays with cars
- Location
- Lehi, UT
Are you new to the world of ham radio? Did you recently pass the Technician test and receive your call sign, only to be left scratching your head wondering what to do next? Have you had your license for a long time but you still haven't done anything with it? Maybe you even went and bought a cheap Baofeng handheld radio, but you haven't figured out how to use it? Perhaps you want to buy a mobile radio, but you're confused by all the technical mumbo jumbo such as the difference between a 1/4 wave antenna and a 1/2 wave antenna... and, besides, you hate fractions anyway.
Don't fret. Back in early December (on page 7 of our ham radio thread), Kevin and I first suggested getting together one evening for some casual instruction about the basics of ham radio, including figuring out how to use these fantastically cheap but outrageously frustrating Baofeng handhelds. While not a lot more was said in our thread, this idea was more recently introduced in the ExpeditionUtah forum, and a few guys there are very interested. I am by no means a ham radio expert, but I am always eager to share some knowledge and experience in order to help newcomers get started and become comfortable with their radios. To that end, I have held small group meetings with new hams on a few occasions to help them get going in the hobby... and I'm willing to do so again.
Kurt Williams has very graciously offered us the use of the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum (470 W 600 S, SLC) as a location for the meeting. I took a trip there yesterday to try some radio testing, and I'm happy to report it would be a suitable location for this event. Based on my own schedule, I have tentatively decided on Thursday, February 9th as the date. My initial thought was to begin at 7pm, but I am considering making a slight change (perhaps to 6:30, for example) if it would be helpful to any of the attendees.
As a reminder, this is not a class to help you study for and pass a license test (though, of course, many things we discuss will have been mentioned in the test questions). Instead, my goal is to help you begin to use the license you've already earned. A few of my planned topics for the meeting include:
- reviewing some of the basic rules of operation
- a few thoughts on radio etiquette
- some popular jargon and what it all means in plain English
- simplex verses duplex operation (ie, using repeaters)
- pros and cons of various radio hardware (with an emphasis on antennas)
- how to program the radio you already have
- actual practice at making radio contacts with your radio
- useful web sites for information you'll want/need
There will be no A/V equipment there, so don't expect any fancy PowerPoint presentations.
I'm not going to mimic a boring college professor who endlessly drones on and on, so don't expect that, either. Instead, this will simply be a casual group discussion that I'll happen to lead--no stress, and there will be no tests. My only hope is that you'll walk out the door with more knowledge and radio experience than you had before you showed up.
So, would anybody here like to join the group?
Don't fret. Back in early December (on page 7 of our ham radio thread), Kevin and I first suggested getting together one evening for some casual instruction about the basics of ham radio, including figuring out how to use these fantastically cheap but outrageously frustrating Baofeng handhelds. While not a lot more was said in our thread, this idea was more recently introduced in the ExpeditionUtah forum, and a few guys there are very interested. I am by no means a ham radio expert, but I am always eager to share some knowledge and experience in order to help newcomers get started and become comfortable with their radios. To that end, I have held small group meetings with new hams on a few occasions to help them get going in the hobby... and I'm willing to do so again.
Kurt Williams has very graciously offered us the use of the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum (470 W 600 S, SLC) as a location for the meeting. I took a trip there yesterday to try some radio testing, and I'm happy to report it would be a suitable location for this event. Based on my own schedule, I have tentatively decided on Thursday, February 9th as the date. My initial thought was to begin at 7pm, but I am considering making a slight change (perhaps to 6:30, for example) if it would be helpful to any of the attendees.
As a reminder, this is not a class to help you study for and pass a license test (though, of course, many things we discuss will have been mentioned in the test questions). Instead, my goal is to help you begin to use the license you've already earned. A few of my planned topics for the meeting include:
- reviewing some of the basic rules of operation
- a few thoughts on radio etiquette
- some popular jargon and what it all means in plain English
- simplex verses duplex operation (ie, using repeaters)
- pros and cons of various radio hardware (with an emphasis on antennas)
- how to program the radio you already have
- actual practice at making radio contacts with your radio
- useful web sites for information you'll want/need
There will be no A/V equipment there, so don't expect any fancy PowerPoint presentations.
I'm not going to mimic a boring college professor who endlessly drones on and on, so don't expect that, either. Instead, this will simply be a casual group discussion that I'll happen to lead--no stress, and there will be no tests. My only hope is that you'll walk out the door with more knowledge and radio experience than you had before you showed up. So, would anybody here like to join the group?
